Its a question of cartridges

Sproggle's deaf. It's been a long time coming, but now I have come to the conclusion that the poor man has had it. Sorry old boy but someone had to let you know!

The 10x4 is way more refined than any of the Rega cartridges could dream of being with their harsh trebles and noisy backgrounds.

The Linn K9 was just plain dull by comparison. Thank the Lord it's dead and buried...in concrete!

On to Simon's issue, I wouldn't consider a Dynavector 10x4! The s-shaped RB200 really wasn't a patch on the more modern arms, having a sweet midrange but severely curtailed frequency extremes. It would seem a bit of a waste to go for a relatively expensive cartridge with that arm in place. Therefore I would recommend you either go for one of the cheaper Rega cartridges such as the super bias or Elys, or you could go for one of my favourites - the Ortofon 500 series. These are the direct competitors to the Goldring 1000 series. They come in 4 flavours - 510, 520, 530 & 540, varying in price from £45 to about £130. The 520 is very well worthwhile at around £80. Note that your dealer will have to fit a 2mm spacer under the RB200 to get the VTA right. That's a requirement that isn't necessary with the Rega cartridges.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

"Dynavector 10X4MK-2 phono cartridge
There's tremendous power and energy in the midband and bass for a cartridge of this price - you wouldn't think it costs just £80 GBP more than Goldring's 1042 moving magnet.......Anyone upgrading from moving magnets who wants a taste of the high end should try and hear it"     Hi-Fi World July 2001

"I rank the Dynavector at the top of this group for its extraordinarily involving and vivid sound, ....."

"Dynavector DV-10x4 MkII (189 GBP)
Quality: 4 stars
(I am sorely tempted to go 4.5 stars, given how great this thing is, but I appreciate that that’s reserved for something like the Aro tonearm – something that’s an absolute best, rather than a relative best. I’m sure plenty of the $1K carts will equal the 10x4 or even better it, therefore I’m shy of going beyond 4 stars. Sound reasonable? You’ve gotta hear this cart – it’s glorious. ...."

"The top cartridges we recommend are the moving magnet Goldring 1042 at 140 GBP and the high output moving coil Dynavector DV10X4 II at 199 GBP (which is a truly superb cartridge in any arm. ...."

Terry

I have tried both cartidges on my P25 and I have to somewhat agree with sproggle. Somehow 10x4 seemed to be more choosy of the records. On a good vinyl, the 10x4 really shines and outperform the Exact but by not a lot. But on a not so good conditioned records, the 10x4 is really unforgiving while the Exact still makes 'em sound really good.

At the end of the day, being with more than 1000 used records, the choice is very obvious.

YMMV.

I don't agree with Sproggle. Must be incompatible in his system ... The 10X4 is I believe the most worthy high-output cart in its price range and a bit above. The 20X4 is definitely more lush, moer Koetsu and Grado Reference series -like, which I can't stand, but Sproggle might in his system....

However, if your phono stage can take it, the 0.4mv AT OC9 at about the same price is more transparent.

To my ears, Regas entire line of carts are abominations.

I forwarded one of those abominations to a fellow forum member and he got along with it just fine.

Go figure, something must be rotten in the state of Denmark.

Thanks for the words of wisdom, however I am now more unsure of wht to do than before - I suppose that can always be the problem with the forum.

Does anyone know if the modern rega carts fit on the old s shaped arm?

the 1042 sounds interesting, as I think the cart can be upgraded by simply buying the different replacment stylus, but this does not solve my problem with not knowing the history of my cart.

I shall have to think anout it some more


Simon